House Passes Legislation Naming Mountain and Ice Field in Honor of Stevens

Published: September 30, 2010

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives passed S. 3802 today by unanimous consent, which honors the late Sen. Ted Stevens by naming a mountain and part of an ice field in Alaska after him. Alaskan Congressman Don Young sponsored the companion bill, H.R. 6197. The U.S. Senate passed this legislation, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, earlier this week.

"Ted was a very dear friend of mine and an Alaskan hero, and he deserves to be honored in this way," said Rep. Young. "We all recognize the significance of Ted's dedication to our state and nation, it is only appropriate that we attempt to honor him with something as enormous as his contributions were. I would also like to thank the House Leadership on both sides of the aisle and their staffs for working with me in bringing this bill to the floor. Ted would have appreciated the bipartisan manner in which it was passed."

"Senator Stevens dedicated his life to Alaska and so it's fitting that a piece of this great land should bear his name," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an original sponsor of legislation to name a mountain and ice field in Stevens honor. "My hope is that through these monuments future generations will come to appreciate the great thanks all Alaskans owe to Ted Stevens."

The mountain to be officially named Stevens Peak is located in the Denali National Park and Preserve, just south of Mount McKinley and is visible from the Parks Highway. At 13,895 feet it is the tallest unnamed peak in Alaska; however it has commonly been referred to as South Hunter Peak.

The northern and eastern half of the Chugach Mountains will become the Ted Stevens Ice Field. This field serves as the foundation for the Harvard, Matanuska, Columbia and numerous other Southcentral glaciers.

Now that the legislation has passed both the House and Senate it will be delivered to the President's desk for signing. The U.S. Geological Place Names Board is required by this legislation to christen the peak and ice field within 30 days of passage.